DUFF MCKAGAN: The Writers Must Earn The Trust Of The Public

October 25, 2010

Former GUNS N' ROSES and current VELVET REVOLVER/LOADED bassist Duff McKagan has penned another installment of his Seattle Weekly column, which can now be found on his Facebook page. An excerpt follows below.

"About 19 years ago, I wrote a song with and for GUNS N' ROSES, called 'Get In The Ring'. At that point in our career, we had ceased to be the darlings of critics. When our band started to 'blow up,' it became apparent that there was an almost sudden sea change in how our live shows and records were getting critiqued in the press. No big deal, really; you just realize that this kind of stuff comes with the territory.

"But what interested me then was: Why would a critic come to our show when it was often openly obvious that he or she didn't like us in the first place? Why waste the time? Why spread a vitriolic point of view? Hence, the first line in that song:

"'Why do you look at me when you hate me?'

"Flash forward to now: I write for a paper that has music critics. With my history, it interests me as to who our music critics are — in a purely educational way. I can't lie; I actually do keep tabs and have barked loudly internally here at [the Seattle] Weekly when I feel vitriol and prejudice played a part in any review that I might happen upon. I'm sure that my 'friends' here at the paper have dwindled by a writer or two."

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